“Good,” Imara said. “I briefed Theo a while ago, so he knows what’s at stake.”
Theo offered a slow nod. “Nadine suspected if things went sideways, she’d end up in one of those cages. Didn’t expect to be breakin’ out two people, but she gave me full clearance to help however I could.”
“And you’re sure we can trust you?” Hawk’s voice cut in, steady but sharp.
“If I wasn’t trustworthy, Nadine woulda slit my throat years ago.”
Christian exhaled hard. “All right then. We’ve got less than a week until they’re both transferred to Capital City. We need to move before then.”
“Three days, actually,” Theo said. “We get updates, so we know when to clean the cells.”
Christian’s stomach twisted. They had even less time than they thought.
“We can make it work,” Theo continued. “The day of, there’s a narrow window of time when they’re leadin’ ’em to transport. That’s when you grab ’em. I can get a message to Nadine. I got janitorial duty tonight, and they never check what we carry as long as we’re logged.”
“Perfect,” Imara said. “Lysa’s waiting to hear from Nadine. Can you deliver a message to Lysa too?”
“I’ll head into Perileos right after my shift ends, yeah. Where do I find her?”
“Gallowood House.”
A pause. “You gotta be shittin’ me. How the fuck you think I’m gonna get a message to her in there?”
“His sister’s smart,” Hawk said. “She knows a message is coming. Nadine wouldn’t have picked you unless you had the skills to stay undercover. You’ll figure it out.”
Theo sighed loudly. “Whatever. Just make sure you get the girls out. I’ll help Lysa prep the route back into the city. We ain’t got much time, but it’ll get done.”
“Perfect,” Imara said. “Where do we meet you once we’re out?”
“Nadine’ll know. She’ll get ya inside.”
Christian’s eyes narrowed. They were putting a lot of faith in Nadine. “And after that?”
“I have creds to call in some favors. I’ll slip you into the outer sector of Perileos under ‘maintenance logs.’ But you’ll have to move fast. Once you’re in, we’ll get ya safely into hiding.”
“And you’re willing to risk your life for this?” Hawk asked.
“I seen what the Systems do to people like her. Like us. I been waitin’ to be activated for years. It’s time to leave this fuckin’ place.”
“Then it’s a plan,” Imara said.
Theo’s voice dropped. “One more thing. I’ll be deliverin’ a small parcel to Nadine tonight. Inside’s a stealth patch—a modified comm. She’ll use it to coordinate the final timin’. Once she’s out, you follow her lead.”
Christian rubbed the tension from his neck. “Copy that.”
“Oh, and here.” Theo pulled a small metal box out of his pocket and handed it to Imara. “You’ll be wantin’ this. Short signal EMP. Won’t fry everything like Colton’s did, but it’ll provide ya enough time to get outta the building.”
Imara’s eyebrow flicked up. “Nice.”
“Y’all get my girl back to us, y’hear?” Theo said.
“You bet,” Hawk replied.
“Now, how do I get outta this room without gettin’ caught?”
Imara took a thumb-sized button out of her pocket and pressed it. “Go now. The camera’s feed is frozen, but you only have thirty seconds ’til it’s back online.”
Theo saluted them and hurried from the flat.
